What exactly is Flash?
Flash is a design platform for adding interaction and animation to a website. It is also used to stream audio and video on a web. It some cases Flash is only used on certain pages of a site (an image slideshow for example or an animated site menu) but can also be used to create an entire website.

I heard Flash make it hard for search engines to index a website?
This is a BIG misconception of Flash. Although this was true some time ago times have certainly changed. If designed properly, Flash can be crawled by search engine spiders. Search engines were originally built to index HTML documents, but now web content has become so diverse that knowing how to treat Flash and other types of content has become more important for search engines. In 2008 Adobe (the distributor of Flash) provided its technology to Google and Yahoo to develop better indexing of sites created with Flash. In addition, Adobe launched the SEO Technology Center for Flash which guides developers in optimizing Flash files to be search engine friendly. This site has become a favorite at the Creative Blend studio and we incorporate the coding tools offered by Adobe into the Flash files we develop for clients for better search engine optimization.

Will the use of high-resolution graphics take forever to load in Flash?
No, it’s actually the opposite. Flash utilized vector graphics vs. raster graphics. Raster graphics such as .jpg or .gif files save millions of tiny colored dots to draw images. Vector graphics on the other hand use math formulas to draw animation shapes. The difference allows vector graphics to be very small files and very crisp at any resized format.
Will my clients have to download a plug-in for my website if I use Flash?
Most likely no. Flash is currently supported by 98% of web browsers, it’s really only older versions of Internet Explore that may have trouble reading Flash files. It’s also important to understand that Flash is operating system and browser independent. Meaning the site looks the same regardless of the web browser or whether the user is on a mac or pc.

Do you recommend your clients use Flash in some capacity on their websites?
Not necessarily. Flash is a powerful design tool, but requesting a site be built in Flash just for the sake of having a Flash site is not a wise approach. The decision to build in Flash comes after gaining an understanding of the clients’ objective. The look and feel they want the site to portray. Sites that will use lots of images to tell the story are a great example of the benefits of incorporating Flash. Video also works well in Flash, there is no need to worry about the client having to download QuickTime or MediaPlayer, Flash streams video independent of these applications. Sites that are static based with the objective of providing text information are better severed without Flash.